Moving to Spain from Turkey
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Turkey to Spain — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Turkey to Spain, you would find that Spain is 58.5% more expensive than Turkey overall. A TRY3,700,000 salary in Turkey would need to be roughly €106,000 in Spain to maintain the same lifestyle, and you’d need to navigate life in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish.
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What to expect for your wallet after moving from Turkey to Spain.
What does your salary buy?
TRY3,700,000 → €106,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Spain
Calculate with your salary →Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 87.0% more
Groceries
pay 89.1% more
Transportation
pay 8.8% more
Housing
pay 2.0 times more
Childcare
pay 27.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.5% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Spain cost about 20% more than cities in Turkey.
Compare cities head-to-head
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Who Else Is Making This Move?
How many people actually move from Turkey to Spain, based on official data.
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Turkey to Spain.
Is it safe?
per 100,000 people per year
of residents who feel safe walking alone at night
per 100,000 people per year
Spain performs significantly better than Turkey across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
annual government + private spending per person
affects wait times and access to care
WHO index from 0–100 measuring essential service access
share of adults with obesity
per 100,000 people — a proxy for mental health support
Spain generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Turkey leads in healthcare spending per person.
What about the environment?
deaths attributable to air pollution per 100k people
tonnes of CO₂ emitted per person per year
Spain performs significantly better than Turkey across all environment metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
fixed broadband subscriptions — key for remote work
higher means greater strain on freshwater supply
annual consumption — reflects grid capacity
share of households with internet
Spain performs significantly better than Turkey across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
the highest marginal rate on personal income
share of people below the poverty line
Turkey generally does better on employment & economy, though Spain leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
deaths per 1,000 live births — lower is better
government spending on education as % of GDP
percentage of adults who can read and write
Spain performs significantly better than Turkey across all family life metrics.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2013–2022), World Health Organization (2024), Revenue Administration, Government of Turkey (2016), Agencia Tributaria, Spain (2016). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Ankara | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 45°/28°F (7°/-2°C) | 55°/40°F (13°/4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/57°F (29°/14°C) | 86°/64°F (30°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 55°/37°F (13°/3°C) | 58°/44°F (14°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Ankara | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39°/26°F (4.1°/-3.5°C) | 50°/37°F (9.8°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 43°/27°F (5.9°/-2.8°C) | 54°/39°F (12.0°/3.7°C) |
| Mar | 52°/32°F (11.1°/0.2°C) | 61°/43°F (16.3°/6.2°C) |
| Apr | 63°/41°F (17.3°/5.1°C) | 65°/46°F (18.2°/7.7°C) |
| May | 72°/49°F (22.2°/9.4°C) | 72°/52°F (22.2°/11.3°C) |
| Jun | 80°/55°F (26.4°/12.6°C) | 83°/61°F (28.2°/16.1°C) |
| Jul | 86°/60°F (29.9°/15.4°C) | 90°/66°F (32.1°/19.0°C) |
| Aug | 86°/60°F (30.0°/15.4°C) | 88°/66°F (31.3°/18.8°C) |
| Sep | 78°/52°F (25.8°/11.3°C) | 80°/60°F (26.4°/15.4°C) |
| Oct | 68°/44°F (20.0°/6.8°C) | 67°/51°F (19.4°/10.7°C) |
| Nov | 55°/36°F (12.9°/2.4°C) | 56°/43°F (13.5°/6.2°C) |
| Dec | 43°/30°F (6.3°/-0.9°C) | 50°/38°F (10.0°/3.6°C) |
Data:
Turkish State Meteorological Service,
Agencia Estatal de Meteorología
Visitor Visa Requirements
Short-stay tourist visa rules between Turkey and Spain. To live, work, or study long-term in Spain, you'll need a separate residence or work visa — check Spain's immigration authority.
Turkey passport holder visiting Spain
Visa Required
Spain passport holder visiting Turkey
Visa FreeData: Henley Passport Index. Check with the destination country's embassy for the most current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Spain than Turkey?
No — Spain is on average about 59% more expensive than Turkey. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Spain?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly €26,500 in Spain on a TRY3,700,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees).
Can I work remotely from Spain?
Internet is rarely the blocker — Spain has 39.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people. The real questions are legal: digital nomad visa eligibility, your employer's overseas-work policy, and tax residency in both countries.
Is Spain safe for expats?
Spain performs significantly better than Turkey across all safety metrics. The homicide rate in Spain is 0.7 per 100,000 people, compared to 3.2 in Turkey. About 78% of people in Spain feel safe walking alone at night.
How is healthcare in Spain compared to Turkey?
Spain generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Turkey leads in healthcare spending per person. There are 42.9 doctors per 10,000 people in Spain, compared to 22.4 in Turkey. Spain scores 85 on the WHO universal health coverage index (Turkey: 76).
What's the weather like in Spain compared to Turkey?
The average high temperature in Madrid is 68°F, compared to 64°F in Ankara. Madrid receives around 16.6 in of rainfall per year, while Ankara gets 15.0 in.
What language do they speak in Spain?
The official languages in Spain are Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish. In Turkey, the official language is Turkish.
